St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-09-12
OUR BEST TO THE LIGHT.
A Sermon BY Rev. LhamOn, Sug-
@eSted by the EXpOSitiOn.

IdhlllS IOI HIS leAl. "A OlUy Oct Oh d
Hill Cannot be HID" Rev. W. j.
Lhamon preached as follows at the
Church of Christ, yesterday:
Our Minneapolis Exposition has sug-
gested to me this subject. l undertake
it with sense of its difficulties.
The physical is much easier shown
than the spiritual, and to too
many of earth's mortals matter
is more attractive than mind.
1t is a laudable human trait that we
bring our best to the light and cherish
it there with sort of sacred admiration.
Immortality, and then it lives like the
poetry of Shakespeare, the Madonnas of
Raphael, Watts steam engine, and
Benjamin Franklin's bottles of light
ming. This putting of his best foot for
ward, this love of the best, and preser-
Walton of the best in man is a mark of
1.-THE divinity that stirs within him.
The church of today, take it all in all,
is the biggest city on the highest hill in
the world. He who does not see it is
blind in that direction. In, this sermon
we follow the rule of exposition people
in general; we show all that is good,
keeping the bad out of sight. will
speak fist of the humane work of the
church; second, of its moral work:
third, of its educational work; fourth,
of its missionary work, and last, of its
recent rapid growth.
First, Christ has better claim on
every humane institution, and on all the
practical workings of the principle of
brotherhood among us than Watt has to
the steam engine, or Gutenberg to the
printing press. When Jesus came there
were no orphanageS, no aSylumS, no
hospitals, no Bethels for bOOt-blacks,
and sewing girls, and infirm old men
and women, no reform farms, nor Peter
Cooper institutes, nor Young Mems
Christian associations, nor homes nor
help for fallen women, nor even so
much as a life insurance company.
The first hospital in the world was
fouuned by a Christian woman, just
outside the gates of Rome. Roman
to Christ, sat together at the commun-
ion table, and thereafter, so far as the
Roman blood would permit, became
brothers in all the affairs oflife. In the
early church liturgy there was prayer
''for those who suffer in bitter. bond
age" In the ninth century the
church itself gave command
against slavery, saying, ''ThOu
shalt possess no slave, neither
for domestic service nor for work in the
fields; for man is made in the image of
God" lis simply truism in history that
the church has been the mother for ! ,SaO
years of the humane spirit from which
has grown all our systematic charities,
the emancipation of slaves, the cessa-
ton in large part of wars, the more
abundant fruitage of peace, the rein
statement of woman, a higher regard
for the rights of children, and an as
founding mass of legal enactment look
ing to the betterment of man by man.
SecOnd-The moral power that the
church puts forth through her thousands
of pulpitS, and periodicals. and schools,
and Sunday schools, and her various So
cietieS and refOrmatories, is almost in
estimable. This influence for good does
not receive the attention it deserves
from reformers and political economists.
Nearly one in four of our present popu-
lation are in some way or other protested
Christians. In the United States, the
territories snd the Canadas, there are
seven millions of children in the Sunday
schools exclusive of Roman Catholics.
All these are influenced for good and in
turn influence others. Mr.. Ingersoll
himself probably would not want to
live in country where he could not
see little children, hand in hand, cross
ing the meadows to their Sunday
morning school. / quote from MI.
Brace in his book entitled Costa Christi.
SIT was the Christian spirit that in
spired the first great effort in the
United States to save the youthful
criminals, in founding in 1924 the first
American reformatory, viz. the New
; York House tic esza OF IN Refuge; There There
Snd one t esf h 5Mfnfg states
formatories for youthful criminals:
The whole number received since their
opening was 81, 402, of whom 77,673 were
boys: 10000 were reported as perma-
nently reformed" 'In New York $4,000
children have been rescued from wee
and misery, and turned into self-sup-
porting and Industrious farmers and
houSekeeperS." These are only exam
pies, and they are comparatively moth
ing of the much that might be told. The
church exposition of her moral influence
is great glory to her.
Third-The educational work of the
church is so well known that l need not
dwell Oh it. except to inforce it here.
Wherever Christianity goes the mind of
man must grow. Christianity elevates
the spiritual. The mental must keep
pace with that else the balance of the
man is disturbed. l spoke a moment
ago Of the pulpits, the religious
press, and the church schools
as great moral force. They
are equally an intellectual
force. What little learning there was
in the middle ages was within the
church, and to-day the most Christian
nations are the most intellectual. The
necessity for education is a part of all
higher civilization. of popular govern
ment, and of pure society. Christianity
is the soul of all these.
FOurth-A word about missions and
the recent rapid growth of the church
numerically. DR.. George Smith calls
this the century of English speaking,
universal evangeliZation." There are
in it 2,700,000 Pagans converted to
Christ. Small as that is, if we could
only see it properly it surpasses all our
mechanical, social, political and indus
trial causes for Boosting. Could we
really see the army of the Pagan
redeemed, all your state shows,
and United States centennials, and in
ternatiOnal exhibitions would be to it
as mere ciphers on the left. There is
no comparison, and yet we cease not to
make our "much adOs'' about our great
nothiDgs. There are nearly 5000 mis-
siOnaries in the field; they have about
$4,000 native helpers; besides there are
hundreds of young men and women in
our colleges and SeminarieS ready and
willing. and praying to be sent any
where in the world to tell the story
of the cross of Christ. The church has
no nobler product than these. All this
mission work is but in its infancy, and
yet Christian people give s7,25O,O00 an
nually to its support. In certain sense